Races

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Here Goes


I have set out to accomplish a goal of running 30 miles on my 30th birthday in May. I am going to use this blog as a way of keeping myself motivated and sharing some stories, music, training plans and pictures on the way. The only way to start training for any significant distance is to run a couple of steps, in blogging you have to start with the first post so here it goes.

I have been sailing a lot this year. By some rough calculations and sailors math, I am pretty close to having sailed over 20,000 nm since January 2013. That's a lot, even in yachting world. Sailing that man miles is good for a variety of things.
-Reading all those books you never quite finished.
-Watching that TV series that everyone was obsessed with, even if it's already off the air.
-Thinking up incredibly complex plans to change your life or save the world, only to forget them by the time your watch is over at 3am.
Unfortunately, sailing around on boats from 50' to 120' is not particularly good for any kind of cardiovascular exercise. You can do sit ups and push ups until your abs are so sore you can't laugh without being in pain and your arms fall off, but the minute you step onto terra firma you are reminded that you haven't walked more than 25 feet over the last 2 weeks.
My most recent trip was on a catamaran that was crossing from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, (off the coast of Africa) to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. The trip took a full 14 days. Though I had been running pretty hard right before we left, when I woke up in St. Lucia and headed out at sunup my legs were screaming at me. Every step felt like running through cement. As I mentioned earlier, making big plans and setting lofty goals can be an occupational hazard when you are drifting through a very dark night, on watch by yourself. So I ran for about an hour, secretly happy that I had left my running watch on another boat and won't be getting it back until next week. No one wants to see their first-day-back pace. Getting the legs moving and rebuilding those muscles are the only goals for the first week back. Speed, endurance, distance, runner's high.... those are all very far from your mind on day 1.
I ran for about an hour, stopping to stretch here and there. I had left the marina and turned right to run into the small island town of Rodney Bay. I ran out and back and stopped to stretch at the marina gate. The security guard recognized me and asked how far I had gone. Not having a watch or gps I had no idea and didn't really want to think about it. I asked him what time it was and did some math. Hoping I was running under a 10 minute pace (I had been running 8s when I left Spain), I estimated I had gone for 4 miles. Chatting and joking with the guards gave me a boost of energy and, since it was still very early, I decided to go a bit more, this time turning left out of the gate. I'm glad I went for the second session and ended back at the marina tired and sore but feeling pretty happy. I flew out of St. Lucia later that night to join Ben in Antigua and settle into our apartment for the winter. I got in late and woke up early (getting off of your watch schedule is also a pain for the first few days on land) but didn't end up running yesterday. This morning I managed to sleep for a pretty normal amount of time and headed out the door as Ben went to work. There is a big hill called Shirley Heights at the end of the road we live on. It is a historical site with a few crumbling buildings from Nelson's British Navy along the way. Up and back ends up being 5 miles with a big elevation gain in the middle. The top flattens out a bit and rolls a little higher to the main lookout over the harbor. No matter how hard a run it is to the top, the view is always worth it, and there is usually some breeze coming up the hill ( it's Hot in Antigua, so any breeze helps!).


 Again I was running without a watch and glad to be doing it, but I think it was a good, albeit slow, effort. I was also breaking in my new shoes. I have been running in Merrel minimal trail shoes for about 6 months and really enjoying the freedom. I bought a pair of Asics that are pretty light weight but have a trail running sole and a lot more cushion than the Merrels. I will still use my Merrels to do short, fast runs and speed training, but my knee is a constant worry for me, so I feel pretty good about having a little more support.
Ok, first blog and second run done! I'm very excited about this winter! Here goes!!

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